“It’s not a good idea to launch a new product in August.” That product? A possibly Iraqi war… I read an article somewhere talking about Bush’s former alcoholism, and that maybe his unwillingness to budge on the issue, aside from the obvious benefits of oil, is due to his possible thoughts that his dad doesn’t have that much respect for him, and he’s perceived as the dumber link to Jeb. The Democrats have been scared in this respect: they don’t say a word for fear of pro-war voters’ backlash. If they can take the Senate and get more votes in the House, maybe there’s a chance they’ll speak up.There doesn’t seem to be a big difference between George Will and Dennis Miller when it comes to the subject of war. Both are so pro-war it’s spooky. Even Charlie Rose was taken a bit aback when George Will talked about pre-emptive strikes and bombing, bombing, bombing. Miller seems to have spent a bit too much time emceeing Monday Night Football on ABC. He sounds like most of the nuts on television now. Again, the Democrats say nothing.
Hope’s Edge
I finished reading “Hope’s Edge” by Francis and Anna Lappe. It’s quite inspirational in that it tells hard stories, but offers hope near the end with positive solutions. In one case, there’s the Grameen Bank in India that has offered loans to over 2 million women (mostly divorced, a taboo in that country’s societal mores). It’s nice to read things about this, as it’s balancing in a big way the book about Detroit we’re reading for next month’s session.
Black Betty
I’m at the microphone tonight at Molly Maguire’s (which I still call the Barge Inn since I started going there when it was under different ownership). It’s good to be back. I get five songs in, including two Neil Diamond, one David Allen Coe, and Ramjam’s “Black Betty”.
875 miles
I decide that a non-half-assed drive is in my best interest, and leave SF about noon. I drive 875 miles, with short breaks for gas and restroom. I leave SF at noon, and am in Seattle about 1am. Not bad.
The Modern City
I started classes today. There was an orientation – so many people, so many races and beliefs, so much knowledge. Our cohort weekend seminar is entitled ‘The Modern City’. We’re to read ‘Urban Crisis: Race and Inequality in postwar Detroit’ – I can imagine that’s going to be a depressing read. I’m pretty well-versed on Chicago’s battle with racism and the older Mayor Daley’s attempts to separate races into their own neighborhoods. Of course, Chicago and its suburbs are sprawled all the way out to Rockford, a two-hour drive from the city when the traffic is light. The rings of suburbs show quite clearly the path of white flight.
Registration
Today I registered at New College of California for the Weekend BA Completion Program in Humanities. It’s hard to believe I’ve been to eight schools in the last 12 years, and I guess that lends itself to my flightyness and unwillingness to commit to anything for a long period of time. This feels right, though – standing in line with a group of people who are so much more racially, culturally and age diverse than anything I’ve encountered at my last school, Cornish. That consisted mostly of 20 – 22 year olds, and I felt like the older guy going back to school to rob the life force out of a newer generation, but in not so subtle a way that the baby boomers have gone after my generation.I’m Generation X. That’s so dated by today’s standards.
Charlotte, NC
Photos from trip to visit Grandpa, Uncle Bill, Aunt Judy and Keith in Charlotte, NC.
Moving from Seattle to SF bash at Pink Door
Photos from the Pink Door, on the occasion of my moving from Seattle to San Francisco.
